It's Friday, May 1, 2015 and Avengers: Age of Ultron is released. Avengers is clearly going to be king of the box-office by a wide margin, likely smashing all records. In anticipation, all of the local theaters have dedicated 75% of their screens to it. What happens if you have zero interest in watching Avengers, yet, you still need to get your weekly movie fix?

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, happens.

I didn't see the first mall cop film and I had low, low expectations for Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, but there was just no way that I was going to sit through Avengers. The first Avengers film was agony. 

We bought our tickets for a Friday, late afternoon showing and as we handed them to a judgmental, teenage ticket taker, he very loudly called out "Paul Blart,", clearly mocking our choice in films. As he took our tickets, the queues for Avengers were already snaking around the theatre.

Judge all you want kid, the screening was actually pretty darn full. Sure, it was full of little kids and senior citizens, but it was a far cry from us being the only people in the audience, which I was anticipating.

PLOT- Paul Blart ( Kevin James) is having a rough time. His new wife has served him divorce papers after less than a week of marriage and his mother was killed, when she was struck by a milk truck. His daughter, Maya (Raini Rodriguez) has been accepted to UCLA and soon, he will be living alone. Paul is invited to a convention at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas for security officers and he takes Maya along for their last vacation before she leaves the nest. While in Las Vegas, Maya accidentally gets in the middle of an art heist and is kidnapped. Paul and his security friends step in to save Maya and the priceless works of art.

LIKE- Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is filled with slapstick and stupid jokes, but occasionally, I found myself laughing. This is not normally my type of humor, so I was surprised to enjoy the movie. I liked that is primarily set in Las Vegas, which is a great backdrop for any film. One particularly funny moment came when Paul finds himself in the middle of Le Reve, the big show at the Wynn. I don't know that this moment in the movie would have been funny, if we hadn't see Le Reve. Having seen and disliked Le Reve, it was hilarious to see Blart stuck in the middle of such a pretentious show. The Segway antics just cracked me up and I loved the awe and honor that is given to the female security officer that works at "The Mall of America." It's a running joke that made me laugh.

DISLIKE- When the jokes fell flat, they fell like stone. The same with the acting. It was very hit or miss. There are tons of plot holes and inconsistencies. However, I don't think that anyone expects this to be a great film, so it works because ultimately, it was better than expected. 

RECOMMEND- Eh. I don't know if I'd go that far. This is clearly a rental, probably something that will replay forever on cable and that you'll find yourself watching when you flip channels and land on it. It's better than I anticipated and would probably be funnier if we had hit the bar first. The little kids in the audience were really laughing. If you watch it with a kid, you're guaranteed to laugh more, simply because they are laughing. The laughter snowballs.  Although there is some fighting, this is appropriate for elementary aged children and they are the ones who appreciate the humor.